To:L. D. TROTSKY

Written:Written on April SO, 1921Published:First published in 1932 inLenin Miscellany XX.

      Printed from a typewritten copy.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1976,

      Moscow,Volume 45,

      page137a.Translated:Yuri SdobnikovTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet ArchiveYou may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

ComradeTrotsky:

Ihave read Shatunovsky’s pamphlet,White Coal and
Revolutionary
Petrograd.[1]

Veryweak. Nothing butrhetoric.Not theleast bitof
sound matter.

Theonly business-like hint is on page 15:

“Outstandinghydraulics specialists believe it will take
no more than eight months to see the real fruits of this
great endeavour.”

Whois a specialist? We have none (I have asked
Krzhizhanovsky: there are none). Shatunovsky has undertaken
to write of what he knows nothing about (that’s
Krzhizhanovsky’s assessment).Apartfrom thisunsubstantiatedremark, there’snilin the whole pamphlet.

LetShatunovsky give proof and set outbusinessproposals. Otherwise, the idle talk remains what it is.

Yours,Lenin

[1]Leninsent G. M. Krzhizhanovsky Y. M. Shatunovsky’s pamphlet
on April 24, 1921. On the cover Lenin wrote: “Comrade
Krzhizhanovsky! Your opinion? Return with your opinion. I shall send
it to Zinoviev.” On p. 14, Lenin marked off these words: “To
have electric power within a few months in order to start the
remaining plants”, and made this remark: “This looks like the gist.
How many mouths? How much power? Is this possible in
practice?” On p. 15, Lenin marked off the author’s words about the
opinion of hydraulics specialists arid wrote: “Which? When and
where has this been printed?” (Central Party Archives of the
Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the C.P.S.U. Central Committee.)
On the question of possible measures to restore the economy
of Petrograd, Lenin sent an inquiry to the Chairman of thePetrograd Soviet, G. Y. Zinoviev, on May 3 (see this volume,
Document 147).